The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control renewed a general license that authorizes transactions between certain companies and Petroleos de Venezuela, S.A., OFAC said April 21. General License No. 8F, which replaces No. 8E, authorizes transactions between PdVSA and Chevron Corp., Haliburton, Schlumberger, Baker Hughes and Weatherford International, with certain restrictions, through 12:01 a.m. Dec. 1, 2020. The license was scheduled to expire April 22.
The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control removed sanctions from 12 narcotics-related entries on its Specially Designated Nationals List, according to an April 22 notice. The entries include people and entities based in Guatemala, Colombia, Honduras, the British Virgin Islands and Florida. OFAC also amended six entries under its Libya designations to include more identifying information.
The Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control has been quickly addressing humanitarian licensing issues from industry but could be doing more to encourage the flow of aid to Iran, a former OFAC official and a sanctions lawyer said. OFAC has been rightly criticized for not doing enough to eliminate industry fears of sanctions, said Brian O’Toole, a former senior adviser to the OFAC director, adding that the government should rethink restrictions surrounding humanitarian trade. And although OFAC issued a guidance (see 2004160039) encouraging banks to process humanitarian-related transactions involving Iran, banks continue to seek more assurances, lawyer Kerry Contini said.
The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control is encouraging industry impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic to reach out to OFAC if the agency's regulations are delaying industry's ability to “meet deadlines,” OFAC said in an April 20 notice. This includes industry’s ability to file blocking and reject reports (see 2002200057), responses to administrative subpoenas, reports required by general or specific licenses or “any other required reports or submissions.” OFAC also asked industry to submit self-disclosures to OFACdisclosures@treasury.gov instead of physical submissions.
Despite calls from industry and lawmakers, the Treasury Department does not plan to introduce new authorizations for humanitarian exports to Iran, said Andrea Gacki, director of the Office of Foreign Assets Control. Gacki said OFAC’s current general licenses are sufficient, adding that the agency has not received many license applications to export medical goods that are not already covered by an existing exemption.
The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control issued an April 16 guidance clarifying available humanitarian trade exemptions for U.S. sanctions regimes that target Iran, Venezuela, North Korea, Syria, Cuba and Ukraine/Russia. The guidance outlines the specific exemptions available for personal protective equipment and stresses that the U.S. will not target legitimate humanitarian trade to sanctioned countries. The guidance comes amid calls from current and former lawmakers and trade experts for more clarity surrounding OFAC humanitarian waivers (see 2004100044, 2004070028 and 2004010019), which has caused confusion among industry (see 2004140027).
Although the U.S. provides broad exemptions for humanitarian exports to Iran, the exemptions continue to be a source of confusion for industry, which is hindering humanitarian trade with Iran, said Katherine Bauer, a former senior policy adviser for Iran at the Treasury Department. The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control may issue guidance to clarify the exemptions, Bauer said, but the Trump administration is unlikely to make any major changes to its Iranian sanctions regulations.
The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control updated a Venezuela-related general license and amended a Venezuela-related frequently asked question, OFAC said in an April 10 notice. General License No. 5C authorizes certain transactions related to Petroleos de Venezuela involving an 8.5% bond on or after July 22, 2020. The FAQ clarifies which transactions are authorized by the license.
After current and former lawmakers asked the Treasury Department to clarify its stance on humanitarian exports to sanctioned countries, the agency pushed back on accusations that sanctions are stopping those exports, saying it does not target legitimate exported aid. Some of those accusations are marred by a misunderstanding of Treasury’s general licenses and exemptions, said sanctions lawyer Doug Jacobson: they do allow a broad range of humanitarian exports to countries like Iran.
The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control updated the North Korean Sanctions Regulations by adding new sanctions provisions and exemptions and amending the definition for “luxury goods,” according to a notice in the Federal Register. OFAC also made several technical edits to three definitions, revised an “interpretive provision” and updated the “authorities and delegations sections” of the regulations.